Among conventional electromagnetic relays and electromagnetic contactors functioning as contact devices for opening and closing current paths, various contact mechanisms have been proposed for extinguishing an arc that is generated when movable contactors and fixed contactors are opened to be separated from each other, in order to bring an open state by interrupting a current from a closed state of the contact mechanisms where the fixed contactor and the movable contactor are in contact with each other.
For example, there is proposed an electromagnetic relay that has a pair of fixed contactors disposed away from each other by a predetermined distance, a movable contactor disposed so as to be capable of contacting with and separating from the pair of fixed contactors, and an electromagnetic block driving the movable contactor. In the electromagnetic relay, a U-shaped magnetic holding member is positioned on the outside of a sealing container that faces both side surfaces such that the fixed contactors and the movable contactor face each other, and two pairs of permanent magnets are positioned on the inside of the magnetic holding member in order to extinguish an arc easily by stretching the arc using a magnetic force of the permanent magnets (see Patent Document 1, for example).    Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2010-10057
Incidentally, according to the prior art described in Patent Document 1, each pair of permanent magnets is positioned facing each other in the position where the pair of fixed contactors and the movable contactor face each other, so that the arc, which is generated when the movable contactor is separated from the pair of fixed contactors, can be pulled by the magnetic force of the permanent magnets and thereby extinguished easily.
However, although the arc can be stretched and extinguished easily by the magnetic force of the permanent magnets, the prior art has an unsolved problem where the gap between the pair of fixed contactors and the movable contactor needs to be enlarged in order to reliably eliminate the arc.
Another unsolved problem of the prior art is that a U-shaped magnetic supporting member and two pairs of the permanent magnets supported by the magnetic supporting member are required on the outside of the sealing container, which results in an increase in the number of parts and assembly processes, as well as the production costs.
The present invention, therefore, was contrived in view of the unsolved problems described above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a contact device and an electromagnetic switch using the contact device, which are capable of narrowing the gap between the fixed contactors and the movable contactor and reducing the number of parts and the production costs.